Oh, The Irony!
by Allison Diamond
Summary: Nell regrets the place she chooses for practice. Callen seems a bit more at ease with it. A rainstorm leaves them stranded in the awful place, and Nell is left with a moment to think about her confused feelings for Callen. (No romance; just friendship).


**Disclaimer:** _I don't own NCIS: LA or any of its characters._

_**A/N:** This is a rejected scene from "The Twinkle In Our Stars" and I think you can see why._

* * *

The house is badly in need of improvement as NCIS's Guidelines undergoing many alterations on relationships between co-workers.

The eroded brick and cement are stained with leaks from the gutter that runs just under the sagging roof. Smashed glass and a fat pile of dust decorate the windows nicely. The windows' once rectangular shape — before the lack of shutters — become an irregular shape. From outside, long unkempt grass and thorns grow widely like in the great outdoors. Rotting floorboards with loose nails make an awful creaking sound when walked across. And spiders scurry along the walls from their webs with a ghostly sense.

This isn't what she expected at all.

The house is decrepit and perilous.

It looks as if it can collapse any minute now.

Nell chooses a spot she believes is safer, and takes a long hard look across the room. She moves her boots across the floor, and she's rewarded with rats scurrying around along with a good layer of dust on her boots. The room reeks of rats, cigars, and that musty smell. Her eyes water from the dust, her breathing becomes stifled, her nose is runny again, and there, her allergies are acting up already.

Lack of research. The house in the pictures from the site is nothing like this. It has a dark, quiet, spacious room. It spells out perfect. Since, she runs out time, after Callen gets dragged into another case, she clicks on the first house she sees.

_Callen is supposed to choose the perfect shooting range._

The description of the site says it's the perfect place, located in the great outdoor for shooting, taking a nice stroll, and relaxing against the fireplace. It's anything but that.

Cold air seeps in from the drapery windows as if the Arctic has decided to take a vacation up there. In an attempt to discover warmth, Nell tightens her grip against the steaming hot cup of tea in front of her. God, where is electricity when you needed it the most? Because the house is located in the great outdoors, there is no electrically. Not even a spark.

Unable to take the cold, that awful smell, and those hidden inspects, she drinks the remaining of her tea, regretting it immediately after it leaves a torching feeling on her tongue, and loads her bags in the trunk. She braces back on the trunk of the car, waiting for him to show up, so that they could get out of this hellhole.

"Nell? You leaving already?"

She nods, pulling her hands in the comfort of her jacket deeper. "Yes, this place isn't great for practicing, and I'm not staying a minute longer here. It defeats the purpose of what we came here for originally. There's absolutely no point in staying."

"You sure about that? You can learn a trick or two about defending yourself in the great outdoors," he says in a tone that playfulness and concern seem to be blended in.

She frowns. "Uh, I really don't think so. If I've to stay in that house for another minute with those rats and spiders, I'll go crazy." She glances one last time at the house, and sees ants running along the steps. "I can't stay here. I'm sorry that we had to drive all this way up, and had to leave so sudden."

Callen moves closer to her, and places a hand comfortably on her shoulders. "Nell, calm yourself down. You're starting to sound like an old woman losing her mind." He locks eyes with her, reassuring her that it is alright. "It's just an old house."

One look from him is enough to melt her troubles away. "Uh huh."

"I got into contact with Sam—"

She raises an eyebrow. "Why would you need to contact Sam, and how did you manage to receive a signal up here?"

"I walked up a bit. As I was saying, by the looks of it, we're doomed. Nell, you forgot to fill up on gas. There's about a few miles left, and that isn't gonna get us anywhere near a gas station. Sam will come up here, but it'll take a good couple of hours. So, we'll have to remain in that house for now." Just then, the slight drizzle of rain falls on his shoulders. "And it looks as if a rainstorm is heading our way. Sam might be delayed longer than I thought."

"You said that you 'walked up a bit' and… can't we make it there before the storm hits? I really don't think it's safe in that house." She shivers at the mention of the house.

Callen smirks. "How long have I been gone?"

"About two hours."

"The storm will be here before we reach there. I think we better sit this one out. It's our only way of surviving through the rain. And if you're wondering about calling a tow truck, my phone is dead. Since you forgot yours..."

"You're right." She sighs.

_Great, a rainstorm! The storm has a better chance at passing the safety guidelines than this house._ Nell pushes the thoughts away, and walks in with Callen.

Callen settles on an old yet quiet sturdy chair, and pulls one out for Nell. Somehow, she feels warmth again, radiating from his body to hers. He closes his eyes, hands crossed against his chest, and she finds herself watching him. He looks peacefully. She wonders: When was the last time he actually got a good night's rest?

Seeing the flickering of his eyes — she would describe them as ice: so translucent yet so glossy — she adverts her gaze away from him. And gets up to make tea. Somehow, she forgets to bring coffee, and the tea that she receives from Hetty, is the only thing that in her possession. She has forgotten to take it out from her bag, and the bag is here.

Lighting the stove with, thankfully, the available matchsticks, she watches the boiling water.

"Tea?"

"There was nothing else," she says, her gaze still on the boiling water. The heat from the stove gives her the warmth she needed after the heat from Callen died away.

"Could use the calming effect of tea."

He moves closer to her; his lips just below her nose. Her breathing stops for a moment. He reaches for the tea leaves, and his hand brushes against hers for a moment.

"It's time to drop this in."

She laughs, looking at the boiling water. "Uh huh."

Even the slightest movements from him, she starts to think as something else.

"Think you can take care of it from here?" he asks, the weariness evident in his voice.

"Uh huh."

And she is left with a moment alone to reflect on her thoughts, and the company of the brewing tea.

* * *

**_End_**


End file.
